FIFTH COMMITTEE CONTINUES DISCUSSING SUPPORT ACCOUNT FOR PEACE-KEEPING OPERATIONS
Press Release
GA/AB/3066
FIFTH COMMITTEE CONTINUES DISCUSSING SUPPORT ACCOUNT FOR PEACE-KEEPING OPERATIONS
19960328 Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali should immediately redress the imbalance between the number of gratis military officers and United Nations- paid Professional posts in the Planning Division of the Department of Peace- Keeping Operations, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) was told this afternoon. The suggestion was made by several speakers as the Committee discussed the support account for peace-keeping missions, an item under administrative and budgetary aspects of financing those operations. Speaking for the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, the representative of Costa Rica said that the Secretary-General should submit proposals to rectify such imbalances by 15 June. His report should contain guidelines for the Department's hiring policies. Recruitment should be guided by the principle of equitable geographical representation. The Secretary-General's proposals would cut the United Nations-paid posts to 16 -- from both the regular budget and the support account -- out of 55, said India's representative. Such an overwhelming imbalance affected the orientation of work and standards, and created a system of dual allegiance. The request for 355 posts and $37.2 million gross for 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997 should be granted subject to the immediate redistribution of posts before 1 July 1996 to ensure that the number of United Nations-paid posts in the Planning Division was at least 50 per cent. For the period 1 April to 30 June 1996, the General Assembly should authorize total backstopping staffing of 370 posts and other costs of some $7.2 million, said Italy's representative, speaking for the European Union. To fund the support account in future, its resources should be prorated among various peace-keeping budgets rather than appropriated separately. That way, Member States would be charged for the account while being assessed for each peace-keeping mission. Statements were also made by the representatives of Uganda, Poland, Cuba, Egypt and China. Seth Adza, Director, External Audit of Ghana, spoke on behalf of the Board of Auditors. Yeo Bock Cheng, Deputy Director, Peace-keeping Financing Division of the Department of Administration and Management, also spoke. The Committee will meet again at 10 p.m. tomorrow, Friday, 29 March, to discuss the relocation of Ukraine to a group of Member States that is charged lower peace-keeping rates.Committee Work Programme
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this afternoon to consider administrative and budgetary aspects of financing peace-keeping operations, under which it would discuss the support account for those missions.
The Committee had before it reports of the Secretary-General (document A/50/876), of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) (document A/50/897), and of the Board of Auditors (document A/50/874). In his report, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali argues for a change in the account's current funding method to accommodate the changing needs of missions and the nature of Headquarters backstopping operations.
Backstopping is generally the overall direction, assistance and guidance given by Headquarters departments, offices and other units to ensure the effective planning, implementation and liquidation of missions. The Secretary-General states that three elements are essential for Headquarters backstopping: a permanent core capacity; a variable capacity to support ongoing missions; and an additional one to back the liquidation of completed missions. The core should be funded from the regular budget and the variable and additional capacities from the support account.
Since 1991, he says, non-core posts for backstopping have been funded by including in an active mission's budget the equivalent of 8.5 per cent of the cost of its civilian component. The formula should be reconsidered as it has failed to generate enough income for staffing, common services and other needs since 1992. The ACABQ and the Board agree.
(For background on the support account, see Press Release GA/AB/3065, of 27 March.)
Statements on Support Account
RENATE ARCHINI (Italy), also speaking for the European Union, said that the Union concurred with the ACABQ that the General Assembly authorize, for the period 1 April to 30 June 1996, a total backstopping staffing of 370 posts and related requirements, costing some $7.2 million. The sum should be funded from the current methodology and formula for the support account. As for the needs for 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997 of 355 posts and at a cost of $31.3 million, the Union would present next May its views on the staffing level and other costs on the basis of the budget estimates for all peace- keeping mission for the period. The Secretary-General should, therefore, report on aspects of the support account referred to by the ACABQ and the Board of Auditors.
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The question of the transfer of 26 permanent posts from the support account to the regular budget must be resolved, she said. On the mode of funding the support account, the Union believed, like the ACABQ, that the resources for it should be prorated among the peace-keeping budgets rather than appropriated on a separate budget. That way, Member States would be assessed for the account in the context of assessing each peace-keeping mission.
NAZARETH INCERA (Costa Rica), speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, stressed that any approach regarding the requirements of support activities to peace-keeping operations should take into account the temporary character of the posts that serviced such activities. The support account should be endowed with the necessary resources to cover all peace-keeping support activities. The Group was concerned about the ACABQ's view on disparate and arbitrary staffing which was evident in the Planning Division of the Department of Peace-keeping Operations and in the Field Administration and Logistic Division. That situation was unacceptable and should be rectified.
The low priority of reimbursement claims of troop-contributing States was also cause for concern, she continued. The Secretary-General should present a proposal for the redistribution of posts funded by the support account by 15 June. The proposal should explain the reasons for such redeployment, which violated Assembly resolution 49/250 on the support account. She also requested information on the regular budget posts being used for purposes other than those approved by the Assembly.
Regarding gratis military officers, the Group was concerned about the existing imbalance between military personnel and officers funded by the support account, she continued. She endorsed the ACABQ's recommendations on the matter and called on the Secretary-General to submit proposals to rectify such imbalances by 15 June. That report should also contain the guidelines for the hiring policies of the peace-keeping Department. Future reports on the support account should provide detailed information on all existing personnel, as well as the geographical composition. Hiring policies should be guided by the principle of equitable geographical representation. Future reports should also provide all information on trust funds in order to guarantee full transparency in their management.
NALIN SURIE (India) said the resources requirements for the temporary capacities dealing with peace-keeping missions should be reviewed annually and approved by the General Assembly, based on the fluctuations in the complexity of ongoing missions that were being liquidated. He welcomed the Secretary- General's review that determined the requirements for 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997. It should be endorsed.
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He said the ACABQ had identified a lack of consistent application of criteria, which had led to shortcomings. The proposal to suppress some Professional posts and replace them with gratis military officers, especially in the Planning Division, was disturbing. That had created an imbalance between posts paid by the United Nations and those officers. While voluntary contributions of personnel from Member States were useful in some instances, the proposals of the Secretary-General which would lead to more than 50 per cent of the Professional staff of the Department of Peace-keeping Operations being constituted by those officers were deeply disturbing. The proposals would cut the number of United Nations-paid posts to 16 (from both the regular budget and the support account) out of 55. Such an overwhelming imbalance would not contribute to the Organization's effective and impartial functioning. It affected the orientation of work and standards, and created a system of dual allegiance and adversely affected the need for institutionalization. Since peace-keeping was the common task of Member States, that Department's resources must mostly come from assessed contributions. He supported the ACABQ's view that the Secretary-General should take immediate steps, before 1 July, to correct the proposed imbalance by substantially restoring the number of United Nations-financed posts in the Planning Division. The same should apply to the Lessons Learned Unit.
Adequate staff should be provided to handle claims from Member States for troops and contingent-owned equipment, he added. He supported the ACABQ's view that once a quantum of resources was agreed for 12 month periods, they should be prorated among various peace-keeping missions. The Secretariat had stated that that would ensure adequate resources. He supported the 355 posts and $37.2 million gross sought for the period 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997, subject to the immediate redistribution of posts before 1 July 1996 to ensure that the number of United Nations-paid posts in the Planning Division was at least 50 per cent of the total.
NESTAR ODAGA-JALOMAYO (Uganda) expressed disappointment that the Board of Auditors was not able to audit extrabudgetary resources and the use of seconded personnel. The Board's recommendations should be implemented fully. He urged the Auditors to audit all other remaining areas. He expressed support for the proposal of 370 posts for backstopping staff and related post requirements for the April-June period to be financed under the current support account formula. He also supported the 355 posts for the period from 1 July 1996 to June 30 1997. The 26 support account posts should not be transferred to the regular budget. He called for a thorough review of backstopping requirements at Headquarters.
On the issue of loan personnel, he urged the Secretariat to supply the information requested by the ACABQ on the matter. That issue needed to be carefully addressed. The imbalance in the proportion of seconded personnel and United Nations Professional officers was cause for concern. The Secretary-General should redress that imbalance. He opposed any actions
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designed to gradually replace the Organization's Professional staff with gratis military officers and called for transparency and full disclosure of estimated costs and valuation of the services of the military officers. The principle of geographical representation should be applied in the hiring of seconded personnel.
The Secretariat should provide proposals on how to reduce the ratio of General Service to Professional staff, he continued. In redeploying posts, the Secretariat should implement only what the Assembly authorized. Extrabudgetary and other funds should be treated with greater transparency. There should be full disclosure of activities funded by trust funds. Troop- contributing States needed fair treatment in their reimbursement claims.
JAN JAREMCZUK (Poland) said there had been some inconsistencies in the report of the Secretary-General. For instance, he was proposing to liquidate some of the Professional posts in the Mission Planning Division. Clarification was needed for some of the Secretary-General's proposals. The distribution of posts proposed by the Secretary-General was not acceptable. Poland supported the view that the Secretary-General should take immediate action to redress the imbalance highlighted.
ANA SILVIA RODRIGUEZ ABASCAL (Cuba) said she supported the views expressed by Costa Rica, for the Group of 77 and China. She supported changing the method of funding the support account. It would have been better to expand the basis of financing that account to include military personnel and police. The level should not have been based solely on the civilian component. There should be a way to include the liquidation phase in the support account. The Assembly should monitor its implementation. The Secretary-General should provide details on the effectiveness and appropriateness of the methodology, as well as explanation on why he had not complied with certain requests from the Assembly. The participation of seconded staff should not be to the detriment of Professional posts. That was necessary to ensure that posts were not undermined. Details on the number and the nationalities of the seconded military officers should be provided by the Secretariat. There should be greater transparency in the use of trust funds. The Secretariat should report on the financing, personnel and the scope of the activities undertaken with those funds.
MOHAMED FATTAH (Egypt) said that the views of his delegation had been expressed in detail by Costa Rica for the Group of 77 and China. The question of the support account should be resolved in a timely manner to ensure that adequate backstopping services were provided. The provisions for steady resources would help give the related staff the sense of security they needed to carry out their tasks. He supported the resources recommended by the ACABQ for the Secretariat for backstopping purposes and endorsed the views of the ACABQ on the role of gratis officers. He expressed concern about the imbalance between those officers and Professional staff. The support account
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should be given the resources it needed to do the work expected of it, and the claims unit should be treated better.
ZHANG WANHAI (China) asked for information regarding the need for backstopping activities after the termination of a peace-keeping operation. What kind of activities were being referred to, and when would they end? he asked.
SETH ADZA, Director, External Audit of Ghana, speaking on behalf of the Board of Auditors, said the Board had taken note of the need to audit extrabudgetary resources and seconded personnel. It had also taken note of the ACABQ's request to follow up on the implementation of the Board's recommendations.
YEO BOCK CHENG, Deputy Director, Peace-keeping Financing Division, Department of Administration and Management, responding to China, referred to the Secretary-General's report which provided information on the nature of backstopping activities. The Secretariat had up to five years to settle outstanding claims and to complete residual work on peace-keeping operations which had been terminated.
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